In news that marks a credit to UK tech, according to research conducted by London & Partners, the UK’s technology sector reeled in more investment than that of any other European country last year.
The research tracked activity across private equity and venture capital deals, and subsequently shows that UK technology companies attracted £6.7 billion in investment in 2016. The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan commented optimistically on the revelation,
With our unbeatable blend of talent, creativity and access to finance, it is not surprising that London continues to go from strength to strength as the undisputed tech capital of Europe.
He continued in a similar vein, stressing on the fact that despite the Brexit vote, London continues to attract record levels of investment and remains the best in the world to grow a business. He said,
I have no doubt that this important sector of our economy will continue to generate jobs, investment and world-leading technology for decades.
According to the research, London’s AdTech, e-commerce and big data firms proved the most popular with investors last year.
AI firms headquartered in London, according to the data, also benefited from a significant increase in VC investment – with firms receiving a record £100 million in 2016, raising the bar significantly when compared to the £27 million raised in 2014 and the £52 million in 2015.
Also, worth noting is that e-commerce businesses based in the capital raked in a total of £486 million across 69 deals.
About M&A
A total of £71 billion worth of M&A deals were completed in the UK last year – more than five times the amount of completed deals in the two years that came before.
UK tech transactions in 2016 included landmark moments such as SoftBank’s takeover of Cambridge-based chip maker ARM, which sold for £24.3 billion and EE’s £12.5 billion acquisition by BT.
Companies in London made up more than half of all M&A deals completed last year. These included Microsoft’s £175 million purchase of SwiftKey and Twitter’s £105 million purchase of AI startup Magic Pony. When it comes to tech, 2016 proved quite an eventful and productive year for the UK.
